Chris Capossela, CMO, Microsoft: The Cultural Reinvention of a Tech Giant

Early in his career, Chris Capossela got an inside look into Microsoft that few, if any, 20-somethings get. As a speechwriter for Bill Gates, Chris traveled the world and learned about the company and its leadership through the perspective of the CEO. Today, he’s Microsoft’s CMO, working under the leadership of Satya Nadella. After a 30-year tenure at Microsoft, Chris believes the last six years have been an “awesome transformation” for the company, as it’s shifted from a know-it-all culture to a learn-it-all culture. He joins the podcast to talk about how Microsoft discovered its new purpose and how the company is helping enterprise and small business customers recover from the pandemic crisis, and, for some, enter a new phase of reimagining their business for a post-Covid world.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• How, at Microsoft, it’s all about culture and mission — and the brand is embedded in that mission
• Why there is no simple path to cultural reinvention
• Why marketers should avoid layering too many high-level frameworks over their mission and brand
• The importance of having a growth mindset inside an organization
• Why Microsoft has changed its physical retail strategy, as more of its products are cloud-based and purchases are made digitally
• Why everything you read about Bill Gates’ humility and curiosity is true